For Craig Angelos, it was a hard-earned path to being the new University of Hawaii athletic director.

Growing up in Salt Lake City, he became an Eagle Scout.

“That was very hard,” said Angelos, who probably was deserving of a merit badge for perseverance. “I didn’t enjoy scouting that much, but I did it because I was required to do it.”

After his freshman year at Brigham Young, he accepted an assignment to serve a two-year church mission in Virginia.

“I was very shy,” he recalled. “I didn’t like to speak to people. You know how young people are. But after a while, you get to be pretty proficient because you’re used to fielding any kind of question or (dealing with an) antagonistic person who wants to run you out of town. You get pretty well adapted.”

At Creighton University School of Law, the emphasis was on the Socratic method that demanded argumentative dialogue. Every professor was Kingsfield from “The Paper Chase.”

“You’re always fearful they’re going to be calling on you,” Angelos said. “You’re fearful you’re not going to be prepared.”

Angelos’ skills — the Eagle Scout’s quest to complete an assignment, the faith that no mission is impossible, the lawyer’s preparation — were factors in Angelos’ selection as successor to David Matlin, whose retirement as UH athletic director is effective June 2.

Angelos, who is Long Island University’s senior deputy athletic director, takes over UH’s 21-sport department on June 5.

There were more than 60 applicants. An eight-member advisory/search committee interviewed eight candidates, then forwarded a list of recommendations to UH President David Lassner. The list was in no particular order, although side notes indicated Angelos received unanimous approval from the committee. A week ago, Lassner nominated Angelos, adding his name to the agenda for Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting at Honolulu Community College. As Lassner’s immediate supervisor, the board had final approval on Angelos’ nomination.

Wary that naming the runners-up would discourage potential candidates from applying for UH jobs, Lassner only brought up Angelos’ name during what was termed a “robust” discussion in executive session. Angelos did not meet with the regents. Returning to the public forum, the regents approved Angelos 8-2 (with one abstention). Afterward, a regent deadpanned: “I wouldn’t know (Angelos) if he walked in the room.”

But in polling the regents, the majority expressed confidence in the advisory/search committee, if not the secretive process.

And Angelos impressed with his self-professed passion for raising money and his participation in securing deals that led to the private-public construction of Florida Atlantic University’s on-campus, 30,000-seat football stadium. His background helped mold him into an organized and enthusiastic leader.

“There were a lot of steppingstones throughout my life that kind of helped me prepare to be comfortable in front of people,” Angelos said. “It’s really a skill set, whether you’re selling refrigerators or athletics. I don’t know how great I am at it, but I put forth the effort.”

He also values deeds in projects and fundraising. “I monitor it through key performance indicators,” he said. “That’s another thing. A lot of people will talk about it, but activity breeds productivity. Now, sometimes that’s not always the case. You can call someone one time and they can give you a million dollars. But most of the time, it’s a series of activity that you have to monitor. And hopefully, over time, that bears fruit.”

With the success of constructing FAU Stadium, Angelos said he would be open to fully developing the Ching Complex into a prominent football facility until Aloha Stadium’s replacement is built. Angelos praised Matlin’s work in converting Ching into a functional facility.

“If we’re going to be here (at Ching) the next five or more years, as people say, you want to make this not just a temporary facility,” Angelos said. “You want to make that your permanent home from right now. And then if and when the Aloha Stadium project gets built, we can do that.”

Angelos also would like to expand UH’s brand with games in Asia and Australia.

He also would like to keep UH’s staff intact, insisting he has no plans to bring in a supervising manager.